The 10 areas with the most building scam complaints

Research reveals the UK locations with the most building scams

Claire Roberts
Authored by Claire Roberts
Posted: Thursday, October 28, 2021 - 13:03

New research from Clothes2order has revealed the areas across the U.K. that have fallen foul of rogue builders and scams.

By analysing figures from Citizens Advice’s ‘Consumer Advice Trends’, Wyre in the North West was found to be the local authority dealing with the most complaints around possible scams.

Read the full report here: https://www.clothes2order.com/blog/building-scams/

The 10 areas with the most building scam complaints:

Rank

Local Authority

Region

Number of complaints

Complaints per 100,000 people

1

Wyre

North West

206

182.2

2

Blackpool

North West

236

170.5

3

Isle of Anglesey

Wales

117

166.1

4

South Tyneside

North East

224

148.2

5

Stockport

North West

414

140.7

6

Barrow-in-Furness

North West

92

137.9

7

Conwy

Wales

161

136.2

8

Neath port-Talbot

Wales

196

135.7

9

Broxtowe

East Midlands

155

135.2

10

Bridgend

Wales

196

132.8

 

The regions with the most building scam complaints:

 

Rank

Region

Number of cases

Cases per 100,000 people

1

Wales

3,457

109.1

2

East Midlands

4,597

94.6

3

North West

6,881

93.4

4

West Midlands

5,247

88.0

5

Yorkshire & the Humber

4,755

86.0

6

North East

2,282

85.1

7

East

5,110

81.5

8

South East

7,397

80.3

9

South West

4,518

80.0

10

London

5,355

59.5

 

Key findings:

 

  • The two areas with the highest proportion of complaints per population were both located right next to each other (Wyre & Blackpool)

 

  • In fact the North West finds itself at the bottom of the top 3 regions despite having the top 2 authorities

 

  • Wales was found to be the region with the highest proportion of complaints at a regional level (109.1 per 100,000 people).

 

How to avoid building scams:

 

  • Never pay in full upfront - If a builder or tradesperson asks you to pay for the full job - even a significant portion! - before starting any work, alarm bells should be ringing. One excuse commonly used by rogue traders is that they need to order tools or materials, however, suppliers will usually provide these on credit.

 

  • Note the fine print - when you agree on any work to be done on your house, make sure everything is fully transparent and clear! Making expectations clear from the start as well as making it clear that all work that is done is covered in the price will stop any extra charges down the line

 

  • Don’t book on the spot - If someone comes to your door offering a deal that seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Many rogue traders like to use the common excuse of having materials left over from a job and not wanting to make a loss. These circumstances, however, usually lead to the price of the job escalating rapidly.
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